The Conservancy is offering competitive grants to fund multi-benefit ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration projects using Proposition 1 bond funds. The Proposal Solicitation is now available and applications are due to the Conservancy on September 30, 2015.

In May 2015 the Conservancy and its partners completed a conceptual plan to restore native oyster habitat, and create a living shoreline, in San Diego Bay. The Conservancy worked with the San Diego Unified Port District, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program, California State University Fullerton and the Southwest Wetlands Interpretive Association to complete the plan. The project partners are currently seeking funds to implement the project as planned, which will investigate approaches for increasing shoreline resilience while also restoring the functions of a native oyster bed.

On June 25, 2015, the Coastal Conservancy awarded almost $2 million for 11 competitively selected projects to help California adapt to climate change. The funding came from the third grant round of the Climate Ready program, designed to help California’s coastal and San Francisco Bay Area communities prepare for rising seas, extreme storms, drought, and other effects of a changing climate. (more…)

A methodology for project proponents to financially benefit from reducing greenhouse gas emissions by accessing carbon markets through the conversion of land to wetlands and rice is now available in draft form. This methodology focuses on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, San Francisco Estuary and the coast of California. The Delta Conservancy held an initial stakeholder meeting to receive input from interested parties and the presentation from this meeting is available below. In the coming months, the methodology will be submitted to the American Carbon Registry for consideration. At this time, there will be further opportunities for public engagement as a part of the review and approval process.

Check out this great video about the California Coastal Trail by KCET, featuring San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox and some fabulous footage of the California coast. For more information, visit the KCET web site here.

National Trails Day, the largest celebration of trails nationwide will be taking place on Saturday, June 6, 2015, and the Coastal Conservancy is sponsoring a variety of Bay Area events in partnership with the National Park Service, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, and others. Go to National Trails Day registration page to learn more about events in the Bay Area and to register for one in your community.

The Coastal Conservancy has updated its Strategic Plan to include priorities for Proposition 1 (Water Bond) expenditure, to update our Climate Change objectives and to address the newly created Santa Ana River Conservancy Program. The Strategic Plan update is available here.